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GARDEN DAYS 2016 – NATIONAL LAUNCH EVENT Grand opening of the ‘Landscapes of Canada Gardens’

GARDEN DAYS 2016 – NATIONAL LAUNCH EVENT Grand opening of the ‘Landscapes of Canada Gardens’

June 01, 2016

Toronto . . . June 1, 2016 . . . Garden Days, the national three-day celebration of gardens and gardening, starts on Friday, June 17 with a National Launch event – the grand opening of the Canadian Museum of Nature’s ‘Landscapes of Canada Gardens’ in Ottawa. Garden Days national spokespeople, Frankie Flowers and Larry Hodgson will be attending this event.

The ‘Landscapes of Canada Gardens’ highlight Canada’s boreal forest, prairie grasslands and arctic tundra. A fourth area, the mammoth steppes, features the plants that would have grown in the pre-historic steppe that was home to the woolly mammoth. These mini ecozones will provide an outdoor exhibit area that extends the museum’s programming onto the landscape around the museum building. CSW Landscapes Architects Limited is the prime consultant for the project, working closely with Museum botanists to create this unique space.

“The Landscapes of Canada Gardens take our commitment to inspiring understanding and respect for nature to the next level, through a living garden that welcomes guests and neighbours, enables natural play and showcases our research expertise in botany,” said Meg Beckel, President and CEO, Canadian Museum of Nature. “There is no better occasion than the start of Garden Days 2016 to open our garden to the public. We are delighted to be the National Launch event and support this national program focusing on gardens and gardening.”

The Landscapes of Canada Gardens will open to the public on June 18th as part of Ottawa’s Garden Days celebrations.

Garden Days activities across the country

Garden Days takes place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Father’s Day weekend. This year’s dates are June 17 to 19. There are loads of fun activities planned from one end of the country to the other all celebrating the role of gardens in our communities and our lives. To find an activity near you, visit www.gardendays.ca

There’s still time to register your activities

All Canadian gardens, garden and horticultural organizations and garden-related businesses (eg. garden centres) are invited to organize activities or events to celebrate public gardens and home gardening and register them, at no cost, on the Garden Days website. It’s as simple as visiting www.gardendays.ca and clicking on the ‘Register Your Activity’ button.

Garden Days is organized by the Canadian Garden Council with the support of Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, Landscape Ontario, Communities in Bloom, Québec Gardens Association, Gardens BC, Ontario Garden Tourism Coalition, the Ontario Horticultural Association and the Canadian Museum of Nature. Garden Days sponsors are: Garden Decor, Scotts, and Garant.

The June 17th Garden Days National Launch Event is organized in collaboration with Canadian Museum of Nature and the Ottawa Garden Council.

The program’s objective is to draw attention to Canada’s garden culture, history and innovations and to underscore the importance of public and private gardens, the values of home gardening and the promotion of environmental stewardship.

The Canadian Museum of Nature is Canada's national museum of natural history and natural sciences. The museum provides evidence-based insights, inspiring experiences and meaningful engagement with nature's past, present and future. It achieves this through scientific research, a 10.5 million specimen collection, education programs, signature and travelling exhibitions, and a dynamic web site, nature.ca. The Museum is home to the National Herbarium of Canada and a team of research botanists, recognized for their expertise in Canadian and Arctic flora.